The Chuck Hagel confirmation whip count  —  Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel testifies Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee as part of his bid to become the next defense secretary, and behind the scenes, senators are quietly lining up on both sides of the confirmation fight.

Dominican prostitute: Sen. Bob Menendez ‘likes the youngest and newest girls’  —  In a little-noticed email published online Wednesday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a young Dominican woman wrote nine months ago that she slept with 59-year-old New Jersey Democratic …

Some Unions Grow Wary of Health Law They Backed  —  Labor unions enthusiastically backed the Obama administration's health-care overhaul when it was up for debate.  Now that the law is rolling out, some are turning sour.  —  Union leaders say many of the law's requirements will drive …

Chinese Hackers Infiltrate New York Times Computers  —  SAN FRANCISCO — For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times, infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees.  —  After surreptitiously tracking …

Kelly ‘proud’ of Giffords's Senate testimony  —  Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), said Thursday he was “extremely proud” of his wife's testimony before a Senate hearing on stemming gun violence.  —  “For her to get up there ... as people can see …

IGNORE LENA DUNHAM'S ‘GIRLS’ AT YOUR OWN PERIL, CONSERVATIVES  —  There's plenty about Girls to annoy conservatives, yet this often creepy, usually skeevy, critically-acclaimed HBO series is also a test for conservatives.  —  Will we finally heed Andrew Breitbart's warnings about the importance …

RUBIO'S AMNESTY A PATH TO OBLIVION FOR GOP  —  RESIZE:  —  Apart from finding out that Barack Obama did far worse in his re-election than nearly any other incumbent who won re-election, the only thing that perked me up after Nov. 6 was coming across a Time magazine published after the 2004 election …

Worth Reading  —  Here's a really meaty and interesting essay in the new and relaunched TNR about gun ownership and what gun owners want.  What Gun Owners Really Want by Walter Kirn.  —  There's a lot there.  But one point resonated with me because it's a flip side of something I was trying …

Syria, Iran threaten consequences for Israeli strike  —  In wake of reported IAF attack on a military research center in Syria, Syrian ambassador to Lebanon says Damascus has option to respond as Iran threatens “serious consequences” for Tel Aviv; Hezbollah, Russia condemn strike.

Myths of Weight Loss Are Plentiful, Researcher Says  —  If schools reinstated physical education classes, a lot of fat children would lose weight.  And they might never have gotten fat in the first place if their mothers had just breast fed them when they were babies.

Why We Took Cocaine Out of Soda  —  Social injustice and “a most wonderful invigorator of sexual organs”  —  1894 ad for Vin Mariani, art by Jules Cheret  —  When cocaine and alcohol meet inside a person, they create a third unique drug called cocaethylene.  Cocaethylene works like cocaine, but with more euphoria.

What Professor Hagel Taught  —  Cyberwar and Bjorn Lomborg at Georgetown.  A former student is “disgusted” by the nomination process.  —  Before he became President Obama's Secretary of Defense nominee, Senator Chuck Hagel was a professor at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service for three years.

Obama's jobs council shutting down Thursday  —  By By JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press - 36 minutes ago  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will let his jobs council expire this week without renewing its charter, winding down one source of input from the business community even as unemployment remains stubbornly high.

Tennessee 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Now Requires Teachers To Inform Parents If Their Child Is Gay  —  Tennessee's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill died with the adjournment of the state assembly last year.  But now the measure is back — with new, harsher requirements.

House Judiciary Chair Introduces Unconstitutional Bill To Permanently Abolish The Income Tax  —  Last week, House Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced the Tax Code Termination Act, which would abolish the entire federal tax code in 2018, with exceptions for Social Security and Medicare taxes …

Charter Schools That Start Bad Stay Bad, Stanford Report Says  —  Arne Duncan, Stanford, Charter Schools, Joy Resmovits on Education, Charter School Growth, Charter School Performance, Charter School Replication, Charter Schools Credo, Charter Schools Over Time, Charter Schools Stanford …

HHS clarifies exemptions from individual mandate in states that buck Medicaid expansion  —  As the Obama administration took new steps Wednesday to implement the healthcare law's individual mandate, it clarified an exemption for people whose governors don't take part in the expanded Medicaid program.